Redknapp’s Words Prove Tax Evasion Guilt, Prosecutor Says

By Tariq Panja -
Feb 3, 2012

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp’s
own words prove he’s guilty of evading U.K. taxes, a prosecutor
said in a closing arguments at a criminal trial in London.

Redknapp, 64, is accused of working with his co-defendant,
Sheffield Wednesday owner Milan Mandaric, to evade U.K. taxes by
putting $295,000 into an offshore account when they were at
Portsmouth soccer club. Redknapp told a reporter from the now
defunct News of the World tabloid and police the funds were
bonuses linked to his employment, before telling the court
yesterday that they were loans for investments.

“You can’t really imagine a case in which you’ve got the
most compelling evidence from the defendant himself about what
all this is about,” Prosecutor John Black told the jury. “In
one unguarded moment on a tape with a News of the World
journalist, Mr. Redknapp told it as it was and that in a sense
condemns him.”

Redknapp was interviewed by reporter Rob Beasley before he
was questioned about the account by police. Beasley told the
court last week he obtained the information after paying 8,000
pounds ($12,600) to an unnamed source. The News of the World was
closed last year by News Corp. (NWSA) after revelations that reporters
hacked into the phones of celebrities and a murdered teenager. A
separate investigation into illegal payments to police is also
under way.

Redknapp yesterday described Beasley as a “liar”, saying
he misled the reporter because he didn’t feel he needed to tell
him the truth.

Tape-Recorded Conversations

Black told the jury that whatever they may think about the
newspaper, the tape-recorded conversation between Beasley and
Redknapp was the “most compelling and important evidence” in
the case.

Redknapp is the favorite to replace Fabio Capello as
England national team manager, one of the most coveted in world
sports, after this summer’s European Championships. Still, Black
said it was “plain” the coach had cheated on his taxes.

“It may not be popular to say that of a man respected in
his business, a fantastic football manager, a man of very many
qualities but the fact remains that this money was paid into an
account in Monaco and no tax was paid on it,” Black said.

The prosecution says two payments made between 2002 and
2004 were bonuses linked to Redknapp’s employment at Portsmouth
and should have been subject to income tax. The payments are
alleged to be connected to profits from the sale of striker
Peter Crouch and Redknapp’s success in keeping Portsmouth in the
Premier League in 2004.

Paper Trail

Black said there’s no paper trail to prove Mandaric’s claim
that he invested money on Redknapp’s behalf in U.S. stocks. The
jury asked the judge to find out how hard prosecutors tried to
find documents related to the U.S. investment.

Black said he could find no reason why Redknapp opened the
account named after his late bulldog Rosie in Monaco and why
money had to move between the U.S. and a tax haven “famed for
its discretion.”

In closing, Black listed a series of questions the jury
must consider that cast doubt on Redknapp and Mandaric’s account
of the payments.

“If these were bonus payments, tax wasn’t paid on them and
these men both intended to conceal and hide that fact from the
tax authorities for year after year,” Black said. “The fact is
revenue who collect taxes in this country have been cheated. If
that is indeed what they did, I’m afraid the verdict is one of
guilty.”

Manadric and Redknapp’s lawyers will make closing speeches
in three days. Judge Anthony Leonard said the jury can expect to
begin deliberations on Feb. 7.